Stock Market & Financial Investment News

On The Fly: Closing WrapStocks on Wall Street were higher during the post-holiday short session, with each of the major averages adding over 1%. Following an initial move higher in the first hour after the bell, aided by some encouraging economic data from abroad, the indices drifted higher for the remainder of the day and closed at their highs... ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., no major economic data was released, however, in Europe, separate reports showed business confidence increased in November in both Germany and France. Also, in China, HSBC's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index increased to 50.4, indicating expansion... COMPANY NEWS: Wal-Mart (WMT) announced had its "best ever Black Friday events" in spite of some scattered strikes by workers and shares advanced $1.31, or 1.90%, to $70.20... Research in Motion (RIMM) shares benefited a day after National Bank raised it price target on the stock to $15 from $12. The firm said in a note to investors yesterday that RIM's new management team is executing by maintaining the BlackBerry subscriber base and U.S. listed shares rose $1.40, or 13.65%, to $11.66 in their first day of trading following the bullish write-up... Shares of Baxter (BAX) moved up $2.69, or 4.07%, to $68.81 after The Wall Street Journal said the company is in talks to buy medical-equipment maker Gambro for about $4B to round out its kidney-dialysis business... MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers were Alcatel-Lucent (ALU), up 10c, or 10.00%, to $1.10 after Bloomberg said the company is in talks with Goldman Sachs (GS) on a loan to strengthen its balance sheet, and MAP Pharmaceuticals (MAPP), up $2.60, or 20.28%, to $15.42 after the company announced that the FDA accepted its Levadex resubmission with a six-month review. Among the noteworthy losers was OCZ Technology (OCZ), which fell 3c, or 2.52%, to $1.16 following its disclosure of a SEC inquiry... INDICES: The Dow was up 172.79, or 1.35%, to 13,009.68; the Nasdaq was up 40.30, or 1.38%, to 2,966.85; and the S&P 500 was up 18.12, or 1.30%, to 1,409.15.

Wal-Mart warns suppliers to comply with labeling laws, WSJ reportsLast week, Wal-Mart sent a memo to hundreds of suppliers warning them to comply with labeling laws, noting that the amount inside a package should match what is printed on the outside, the Wall Street Journal reports. Reference Link

Nokia receives European Commission approval for Alcatel-Lucent acquisitionNokia (NOK) announced that it has received approval from the European Commission for its pending acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent (ALU). The proposed transaction was notified to the European Commission on June 19, 2015 and was cleared today without conditions following a Phase 1 review. Approval by the European Commission follows previously disclosed antitrust clearances in Brazil and Serbia and the expiration of the antitrust review period in the United States. In addition, the parties confirmed today they have received further antitrust clearances from Albania, Canada, Colombia and Russia. Both companies will continue to cooperate with the remaining authorities to close their reviews as quickly as possible. The transaction remains subject to approval by Nokia shareholders, Nokia holding over 50.00% of the share capital of Alcatel-Lucent on a fully diluted basis upon completion of the public exchange offer, receipt of other regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2016.

Wal-Mart's Apple Pay competitor launching soon, Bloomberg saysCurrentC, the mobile payment application funded by Wal-Mart (WMT), Target (TGT), Best Buy (BBY) and others, will see an early trial run next month, Bloomberg reported earlier, citing three people familiar with the situation. A spokesperson for Lowe's (LOW) said the consortium behind the app expects an official launch in Q3, and Bloomberg noted that CurrentC will compete with more "established" offerings such as Apple's (AAPL) Apple Pay and Google's (GOOG) Android Pay. Reference Link